Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz raised some eyebrows on Parliament Hill yesterday when he suggested XL Foods has negotiated an out-of-court compensation settlement with the families affected by E. coli-contaminated beef.
He was answering a question at a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting from New Democrat Thunder Bay MP John Rafferty about potential liability claims under new food safety legislation S-11.
“In the case of XL, there was a negotiated settlement, some $27 or $28 million, between XL and the people, the families affected,” said Ritz during a televised committee hearing.
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He intended to reference a settlement by Maple Leaf Foods after the 2008 listeria outbreak from its Toronto plant that killed more than 20 people, Ritz communications director Meagan Murdoch said later.
But the minister did not correct the error on the record or issue a clarification, and while reporters waited for him outside the committee room after his appearance, Ritz left through a back door that led to a parliamentary corridor where reporters are not allowed.
The comment came as he appeared to explain and defend his new Safe Food for Canadians Act that includes more powers for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the ability to create a national mandatory food system traceability system and greater inspection powers over imported food and the importers.
Opposition parties say they support the bill but will try to strengthen it.
The agriculture minister said the bill, expected to be passed through Parliament this autumn, would give CFIA more power to demand better record-producing performance than XL showed during the E. coli episode.
Ritz said in retrospect the agency should have been “more hard nosed” in demanding pertinent information from the company about its safety controls that proved to be inadequate.
Ritz also vigorously denied opposition claims that the government has cut CFIA funding and resources in the interests of deficit reduction.
“The NDP have stated that CFIA has fewer inspectors and less resources,” said the minister. “This could not be further from the truth. Just because you didn’t vote for it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
He said the CFIA budget has increased by 20 percent since the Conservatives took power in 2006 with 700 new inspectors.
Despite a budget prediction of more than $50 million in CFIA budget cuts, Ritz said additional funding actually is increasing the agency budget this year.
